Voices December 07, 2021
Prostitution is not an acceptable solution for female poverty
By Sister Nancy Brown, SC
Gandhi once said, “When the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.” As I reflect on 20 years of journeying with homeless youth in Vancouver, I recall countless stories that spoke of the need for the power of love. Many youths, although very resilient, were victims of poverty or the lack of options. Here are two such stories:
A 17-year-old Toronto girl escaped from her mother who had sold her into prostitution from age 12 to 16 due to family poverty and the need to feed younger children. Consequently, this girl hungered for authentic love, struggling with an extremely negative self-image.
Another girl from Kenya came to Vancouver to get away from her abusive family and longed for an education to better her life and increase her self-sufficiency. Unable to pay her college tuition, she prostituted herself to obtain the necessary finances.
In both these situations, the young women were forced due to their circumstances to sell their bodies for money. It was never a free choice.
Studies are showing how the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the problem.
A study released in July by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime shows the devastating impact of the pandemic on victims and how it has led to increased targeting and exploitation of children.
Another UN study released in November says the pandemic has resulted in a “shadow pandemic” of violence against women.
Why in Canada do women need to sell their bodies to feed their children or pay their college tuition? Why do girls need to rely on the affluence of males to meet their basic needs? Why are we as a society forcing young women to make such a decision? Is basic universal income the answer? What can universities do to aid those unable to pay tuition?
Let us create a different reality for women who are trying to better their situations and live more productive lives.
From another perspective: Why do buyers of sexual services feel they can capitalize on the unfortunate circumstances of these young girls? Why do men feel entitled to buy the sexual services from the most vulnerable and marginalized of persons? What gives men the right to buy access to girls’ bodies for their sexual pleasure, resulting in lifelong physical and psychological harm to the girls? Is it the perpetrator’s love of power?
This is gender inequality at its worst. Look at the wide gaps existing between buyer and victim where multiple oppressions intersect. Notice the imbalance of wealth, employment, privilege, education, race, ethnicity, and age. The buyers of sexual services are usually well educated and employed, from every profession, and a significant percentage are married men.
Prostitution is not an acceptable solution for female poverty. Indeed, prostitution is a system of oppression that implies that there is a supply of women/girls available for purchase by men. When local supply is insufficient, women are trafficked from other areas or countries to meet the demand.
How do young girls/women get pulled into this dangerous exchange? The following four types of pimping illustrate power over people.
- The Gorilla pimp uses force and physical abuse on the victim, often using drugs, violence, kidnapping, and isolation as a means to control and subdue.
- The Romeo pimp uses gifts, compliments, sweet talk, and false romance to lure a victim into a relationship of dependence and control.
- The CEO pimp views it as a business transaction where the buying and selling of human beings is a cold business arrangement with victims being treated as objects.
- The Sugar Daddy wants companionship without commitment. To appease his loneliness, the sugar daddy buys a young person for an evening’s entertainment or pays a college student’s rent/tuition for a longer period of sexual access.
After being groomed, lured, and manipulated into this abusive exchange, women are often moved from city to city, being trafficked to locations where the best money can be obtained. A recent example is a girl from the Toronto area who was moved so many times she did not know where she was. Statistics from the Toronto area show girls are being regularly trafficked up and down the 401 highway and other trafficking corridors/highways in Ontario. It is all about the buyer having sexual pleasure and power over the other.
Most trafficking in Canada is pimp related with numerous buyers. Women and girls are trafficked domestically for the purpose of prostitution while their traffickers make massive amounts of money. As they hunger for authentic love and a sense of belonging, these young girls are being damaged for life.
The pandemic has only made this situation more dangerous. COVID-19 has fuelled online exploitation. Child online exploitation and child pornography have exploded. Students have resorted to sugar daddies to pay their tuition. Domestic violence has increased 20 to 30 per cent, leading to more youth escaping to the streets as children feel unsafe in their homes.
This unfortunate reality challenges our commitment to justice and compassion for the wounded in our neighbourhoods. May the power of our love overrule the love of power!
What can you do?
Read the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Human Trafficking: www.cccb.ca and learn more about human trafficking by visiting the Archdiocese of Vancouver’s Anti-Human Trafficking site https://rcav.org/anti-human-trafficking.
Sister Nancy Brown, a Sister of Charity of Halifax, is an advocate for homeless youth and young people at risk for human trafficking and sexual exploitation in British Columbia and has dedicated decades to fighting for women who have been sold into the sex trade. She currently works with the Anti Human Trafficking Committee of the Archdiocese of Vancouver and REED (Resist Exploitation Embrace Dignity).